Home Discussion Topics Dictionary Almanac

Signup Login

Base on balls

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Base on balls'

Start a new discussion about 'Base on balls'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

A base on balls is credited to a batter

Batting (baseball)

In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher...

and against a pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

in baseball statistics

Baseball statistics

Statistics play an important role in summarizing baseball performance and evaluating players in the sport.Since the flow of a baseball game has natural breaks to it, and normally players act individually rather than performing in clusters, the sport lends itself to easy record-keeping and statistics...

when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls

Strike zone

In baseball, the strike zone is a conceptual right pentagonal prism over home plate which defines the boundaries through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike when the batter does not swing.-Definition:...

. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08(a). It is called a "walk" because the batter is then entitled to walk to first base, or more specifically (as defined in the rules of baseball) he is "entitled to first base without liability to be put out." However, the term "base on balls" is used in official context because it is considered a faux pas

Faux pas

A faux pas is a violation of accepted social norms . Faux pas vary widely from culture to culture, and what is considered good manners in one culture can be considered a faux pas in another...

for a professional

Professional baseball

Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

player to walk to first base (as opposed to physically running), and also to distinguish from the other manners in which a batter can be awarded first base without liability to be put out (e.g., hit by pitch

Hit by pitch

In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...

, catcher's interference).

A batter who draws a base on balls is commonly said to have been "walked" by the pitcher. When the batter is walked, runners advance one base without liability to be put out only if forced to vacate their base to allow the batter to take first base. If a batter draws a walk with the bases loaded

Bases loaded

In the sport of baseball, the bases are loaded when there is a runner on each base . This presents a great scoring opportunity for the batting team, but it also presents an easy double play opportunity for the defense. Causing the bases to become loaded is called loading the bases...

, all preceding runners are forced to advance, including the runner on third base who is forced to home plate to score a run, and the batter is credited with an RBI per rule 10.04.

Receiving a base on balls does not count as a hit

Hit (baseball)

In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....

or an at bat

At bat

In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...

for a batter but does count as a time on base

Times on base

In baseball statistics, the term times on base, also abbreviated as TOB, is the cumulative total number of times a batter has been awarded for reaching base as a result of hits, walks and hit by pitches. This stat does not include times reaching first by way of error, dropped 3rd strike, fielders...

and a plate appearance

Plate appearance

In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance each time he completes a turn batting. A player completes a turn batting when: He strikes out or is declared out before reaching first base; or He reaches first base safely or is awarded first base ; or He hits a fair ball which...

. Therefore, a base on balls does not increase nor decrease a player's batting average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

, but it does increase his on-base percentage, unless a player's on-base percentage is 1.000, in which case it remains the same.

A hit by pitch

Hit by pitch

In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...

is not counted statistically as a walk, though the effect is mostly the same, with the batter receiving a free pass to first base. The one exception is that on a HBP, the ball is dead and any runners who were stealing on the play must return to their original base unless forced to the next base anyways.

Intentional base on balls

A subset of the base on balls, an intentional base on balls (IBB) or intentional walk is when the pitcher deliberately pitches the ball away from the batter in order to issue a base on balls. As with any other walk, an intentional walk entitles the batter to first base without liability to be put out, and entitles any runners to advance if forced. Intentional walks are a strategic defensive maneuver, usually done to bypass one hitter for one the defensive team believes is less likely to initiate a run-scoring play (e.g., a home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

, sacrifice fly

Sacrifice fly

In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a batted ball that satisfies four criteria:* There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit.* The ball is hit to the outfield....

, or RBI base hit

Hit (baseball)

), or to set up a double play

Double play

In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....

or force out

Force play

In baseball, a force is a situation when a baserunner is compelled to vacate his time-of-pitch base—and thus try to advance to the next base—because the batter became a runner. A runner at first base is always forced to attempt to advance to second base when the batter becomes a runner...

situation for the next batter. They do carry an inherent risk, however, as they give the offensive team another runner on base, without any effort on their part, who could potentially score a run.

An intentional walk is signaled by the catcher standing and extending one arm to the side away from the batter. The pitcher then pitches the ball to that side several feet outside from home plate, usually outside the reach of the batter. A ball pitched in this manner is called an intentional ball and counts as a ball in the pitcher's pitch count

Pitch count

In baseball statistics, pitch count is the number of pitches thrown by a pitcher in a game.Pitch counts are especially a concern for young pitchers, pitchers recovering from injury, or pitchers who have a history of injuries. The pitcher wants to keep the pitch count low because of his stamina...

. In order to count as an intentional ball, the ball must be legally pitched, i.e., the pitcher's foot must be on the pitcher's rubber, the catcher must be in the catcher's box, and the batter must be in the batter's box appearing ready to take a pitch at the time the ball is thrown. An intentional walk may be signaled at any time during the batter's turn at the plate; in these cases only enough additional intentional balls need to be thrown to bring the total to four. Only walks issued by the catcher signaling as described above are recorded as intentional walks (see below); walks issued without the catcher signaling – even if the pitches are intentionally thrown outside of the strike zone – are not recorded as intentional.

Another risk taken by the defensive team in issuing a base on balls is that since intentional balls must be pitched in a legal manner, they can legally become wild pitch

Wild pitch

In baseball, a wild pitch is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, perhaps even the batter-runner on strike three or ball four, to advance.A wild pitch usually...

es or passed ball

Passed ball

In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control. When, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a runner on base advances, the catcher is thereby charged...

s. Likewise, a baserunner can attempt to steal

Stolen base

In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

a base, or the batter can choose to swing at an intentional ball; however, these rarely occur since taking these risks is rarely more beneficial to the offensive team than allowing the walk. In the Major Leagues, the most recent example of a swing at an intentional ball resulting in a hit occurred during a June 22, 2006 game between the Florida Marlins

Florida Marlins

The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...

and the Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

. In the top of the 10th inning, with a runner on second base, Baltimore pitcher Todd Williams

Todd Williams

Todd Michael Williams is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He last pitched for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League in , and is currently a free agent...

was signaled to intentionally walk the Marlins' Miguel Cabrera

Miguel Cabrera

José Miguel Cabrera Torres nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws right-handed....

. Noticing that the intentional ball came in too close to the plate, Cabrera swung at the ball, resulting in a base hit, and a run scored for Florida.

Though intentional walks are recorded as such in the records of the official scorer

Official scorer

In the game of baseball, the official scorer is a person appointed by the league to record the events on the field, and to send the official scoring record of the game back to the league offices...

, they are combined with standard, non-intentional walks when calculating a player's on-base percentage, and were only given a separate column with a player's statistics since 1955

1955 in baseball

-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Brooklyn Dodgers over New York Yankees ; Johnny Podres, MVP*All-Star Game, July 12 at County Stadium: National League, 6-5 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Cangrejeros de Santurce...

.

Batters, on occasion, have been given intentional walks with the bases loaded (effectively giving the offensive team a risk-free run), although this occurs very infrequently.

A common nickname for the intentional walk is four-finger salute, since most managers

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

call for an intentional walk by holding up four fingers. Outside the professional leagues, such as in high school or college baseball, the manager may simply request to the plate umpire to let the batter go to first instead of having the pitcher waste four outside pitches.

Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds

Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...

is the all time record holder with 688 intentional bases on balls (as of the start of the 2008 season). The next most is Hank Aaron with 293.

Active

All-time rank	Player	Base on balls
9	Jim Thome Jim Thome James Howard "Jim" Thome is a Major League Baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is the eighth player to hit 600 home runs in the major leagues. He is widely considered a future Hall of Famer.-Cleveland Indians :...	1,682
32	Chipper Jones Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones, Jr. is a Major League baseball player for the National League's Atlanta Braves. Although initially a shortstop, he has spent most of his career as the starting third baseman for the Braves...	1,343
45	Jason Giambi Jason Giambi Jason Gilbert Giambi is an American professional baseball first baseman with the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball.He was the American League MVP in 2000 while with the Oakland Athletics, and is a five-time All-Star who has led the American League in walks four times, in on base percentage...	1,262

Single-season

Rank	Player	Year	Base on balls
1	Barry Bonds Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...	2004	232
2	Barry Bonds Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...	2002	198
3	Barry Bonds Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...	2001	177
4	Babe Ruth Babe Ruth George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...	1923	170
5	Mark McGwire Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire , nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently the hitting coach for the St...	1998	162
	Ted Williams Ted Williams Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...	1947	162
	Ted Williams Ted Williams Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...	1949	162
8	Ted Williams Ted Williams Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...	1946	156
9	Barry Bonds Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...	1996	151
9	Eddie Yost Eddie Yost Edward Frederick Joseph Yost is a former professional baseball player and coach. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball career as a third baseman for the Washington Senators, before ending his career with the Detroit Tigers and the Los Angeles Angels. Yost batted and threw right-handed...	1956	151

Base on balls

Intentional base on balls

Active

Single-season

See also related lists

External links